Beautiful Creatures is the first book in a series of five books. It is a beautiful, Southern gothic story set in South Carolina. Ethan has lived in the small town of Gatlin his whole life. He views his existence as ordinary and somewhat boring until new girl, Lena, arrives in town. She is beautiful and mysterious. Ethan soon finds himself involved in Lena’s magical world for she is descended from a long line of magical Casters. They both discover how their families are interconnected. In addition, he sees his small town in a whole new light, and the people he thought he knew, he doesn’t really know at all.

Beautiful Creatures is one of my favorite books. I loved the love story between Ethan and Lena, and I loved Ethan’s relationship with the lady who has helped raise him since his mother’s death, Amma. However, one of the best features of the book is the writing style of the authors. Their descriptions are so vivid that it involves all of your senses: touch, taste, smell, hearing, and sight. You can see the moss hanging from the majestic oak trees, and you, yourself, become a resident of Gatlin. This book is not only for teens, but adults would enjoy it as well. The movie adaptation was released in February 2013, but it doesn’t come close to the magical world of Ethan and Lena.

The library’s starting a Teen Advisory Group and if you’re in 6-12th grade, you’re invited! Come speak up and tell us how to make the library better for you while earning volunteer hours, gaining new skills, winning prizes, and making new friends.

Interested teens should contact Betsy by emailing powellb@ngrl.org, calling (706) 876-1365, or messaging the Dalton-Whitfield Facebook Page for more information.

Lies Beneathis about mermaids. But get past this image of Ariel in your head or swimming with dolphins. This is more Silence of the Lambs. These mermaids murder humans in order to steal their energy for survival, and right now, they are out for revenge. When this family of sisters and brother were children their mother died because Tom Hancock couldn’t keep his promise. But unlike feeble humans, mermaids and mermen must always keep their promises, so they are out to avenge their mother. Since Tom Hancock has died, his grown up son Jason will do just fine. The sisters send their brother Calder, the narrator, to get close to the family in order to lure Jason out onto the lake. Only one problem… Calder falls for Jason’s daughter. What’s a murderous merman to do?

Plot wise, the story was solid. There were little to no holes. The author did a very good just bringing the reader along for the ride and showing, not telling us, what we were seeing. It was intriguing and I definitely want to read the next book immediately.

Mermaid Folk Lore was different in the novel. Some of it wasn’t explained clearly until the end of the novel. I understood that the author was trying to not give away the ending, but a clearer understanding during the middle would have linked together a few things. Making sure the mythology makes sense is vital when writing fantasy.

Character wise Calder was easy enough to read. He was slightly moody but he was supposed to be because he hadn’t “absorbed” any humans in 6 months. And he wasn’t at Bella Swan mode yet. I liked Lilly but I wasn’t in love with her yet. The next novel is written from her POV so hopefully that will clear that up. There were a few weird things. There were supposed to be two ‘protagonists’. The first were Calder’s sisters. He didn’t particularly enjoy being connected to them. They were written well but there was always something … unsettlingly creepy about them… And the other enemy was Jack Petit. I totally hated him. But you were supposed to.

Did you know that Georgia Libraries offer free or discounted passes to families who check out certain materials? They can be used once per family, and the value is unbeatable! Click on an image go to the websites for the companies where you can find hours, locations, and more.

Zoo Atlanta Family Pass

The Zoo Atlanta Family pass can be checked out once per year per family. The pass provides up to two adult tickets and up to two children’s tickets–for free! All you have to do is check out the Zoo Pass Video and watch it. When you bring it back to the library, the staff will give you a zoo pass.

How It Works

Check out the video from the library, watch it, then bring it back on time or early.

The librarians provide you with a zoo pass that you fill in with your family’s name.

Sometime in the next seven days, go to the zoo with up to two adults and two kids and get free general admission! Make sure to bring some ID!

Things to Remember

Zoo Pass DVDs cannot be held for anyone! We cannot guarantee the videos will be available, and they are checked out frequently.

The best way to get the pass is to give your local library a call and ask if it’s available. If it is, then rush over to grab it, because it might not be there for long. If it isn’t, give it a few days and call again.

Pass DVDs check out for up to seven days and cannot be renewed. Overdue fees are $0.50 per day and overdue zoo pass DVDs are not eligible for the pass. A lost Zoo Pass DVD costs $30.00 to replace.

Georgia State Parks & Historic Sites Pass

The library offers family passes to visit a Georgia Historic Site with a parking pass. It can be checked out once per year per family. It provides four tickets–for free! All you have to do is check out the pass and then go to the park.

How It Works

Check out the pass from the library.

In the next seven days, visit the park and use the hang tag to get free parking. Make sure you bring some ID!

Return the passes to the library.

Things to Remember

State Park Passes cannot be held for anyone! We cannot guarantee the pass will be available.

The best way to get the pass is to give your local library a call and ask if it is available.

Passes check out for up to seven days and can be renewed once. Overdue fees are $3.00 per day. A lost State Park Pass costs $50.00 to replace.

Go Fish Education Center Passes

The library offers family passes to visit the Go Fish Education Center in Perry, Georgia. It can be checked out once per year per family. It provides up to four tickets–for free! All you have to do is check out the pass and visit the center.

How It Works

Check the pass out from the library.

Within the next seven days, visit the Go Fish Education Center on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. Make sure you bring some ID!

Bring the pass back to the library.

Things to Remember

Go Fish Education Center Passes cannot be held for anyone! We cannot guarantee the pass will be available.

The best way to get the pass is to give your local library a call and ask if it is available.

Passes check out for up to seven days and cannot be renewed. Overdue fees are $3.00 per day. A lost Go Fish Education pass costs $50.00 to replace.

Center for Puppetry Arts Museum Pass

The library offers a Center for Puppetry Arts Museum Pass for the Center in Atlanta. The pass allows a family of up to four to gain free access to the Puppetry Arts Museum and holders can get discounted tickets to the shows and workshops with it. All you have to do is check the pass out, make reservations, and go!

How it Works

Check out the pass from the library.

Make reservations to attend the museum at least 48 hours before you go to the center.

Go to the museum! Purchase tickets for shows or workshops while there if you want to attend those. Make sure you bring some ID!

Return the pass to the library.

Things to Remember

Center for Puppetry Arts Museum Passes cannot be held for anyone! We cannot guarantee the pass will be available.

The best way to get the pass is to give your local library a call and ask if it is available.

Passes check out for up to seven days and can be renewed once. Overdue fees are $3.00 per day. A lost Center for Puppetry Arts pass costs $50.00 to replace.

The Center’s Current Show

The Dalton-Whitfield Teens made some awesome chalk graffiti on the library sidewalks as part of the August 2013 Summer Reading Program. This was our finale and we had 8 kids doing art. See the gallery below to see what they did. Click on an image to see the full picture.

Zoo & Park Passes

Did you know that Georgia Libraries offer free or discounted passes to families who check out certain materials? They can be used once per family, and the value is unbeatable! Click on an image to find out more about the pass and how it works.

Northwest Georgia Talking Book Library

The Northwest Georgia Talking Book Library provides free library service to the disabled in 21 counties of Northwest Georgia.